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Unlikely Pouncey moves to Guard. Not sure Pouncey gets you a 1st Round pick coming off a knee injury.

Velasco doesn't seem strong enough with pass blocking to get rid of Pouncey. I could see keeping Pouncey at Center and moving Velasco to Guard to replace Foster. That gives you a player who can play two positions.

Tough decision about what we do with Pouncey.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

I know that I'm in the minority, but I still don't see the fuss about Pouncey. After watching Velasco step in I think he came off of his couch to do as good a job as Pouncey does. Pouncey still has a year on his rookie contract, so he is still affordable next year, but I would not sign him to a big contract after next year. If we can get something for him in trade I would make the move and sign Velasco, or keep them both for one more year and move Pouncey to guard.

As for whoever said that centers make more money than guards, Carl Nicks signed a 5 year, $47.5M contract this off-season with $31M guaranteed. I believe that this is the highest for an interior lineman. I believe that the highest paid center is Ryan Kalil. His deal is for 6 years, $49M, $28M guaranteed - but signed 2 years earlier. Doesn't look like there is too much of a difference at the pay window for an elite guard and an elite center, and I would not give Pouncey close to either of these amounts.

Unlikely Pouncey moves to Guard. Not sure Pouncey gets you a 1st Round pick coming off a knee injury.

Velasco doesn't seem strong enough with pass blocking to get rid of Pouncey. I could see keeping Pouncey at Center and moving Velasco to Guard to replace Foster. That gives you a player who can play two positions.

Tough decision about what we do with Pouncey.

You may be right. The problem with keeping Pouncey is the investment needed on the OL in the future. If we draft and sign a franchise LT, and DD looks like a Pro Bowler in years to come can we afford 3 highly paid OLmen?

I know that I'm in the minority, but I still don't see the fuss about Pouncey. After watching Velasco step in I think he came off of his couch to do as good a job as Pouncey does. Pouncey still has a year on his rookie contract, so he is still affordable next year, but I would not sign him to a big contract after next year. If we can get something for him in trade I would make the move and sign Velasco, or keep them both for one more year and move Pouncey to guard.

As for whoever said that centers make more money than guards, Carl Nicks signed a 5 year, $47.5M contract this off-season with $31M guaranteed. I believe that this is the highest for an interior lineman. I believe that the highest paid center is Ryan Kalil. His deal is for 6 years, $49M, $28M guaranteed - but signed 2 years earlier. Doesn't look like there is too much of a difference at the pay window for an elite guard and an elite center, and I would not give Pouncey close to either of these amounts.

Good to know. If that's the case and Pouncey was willing to move that would be great. But, still the affordability issue comes into play if the Steelers draft a top LT in this draft.

I've been thinking the same thing about Pouncey. The last few years I have been very underwhelmed with him, so I really hope we don't resign him. It really stinks with him being another 1st round pick that doesn't pan out...Holmes, Mendenhall, Pouncey, Hood?, Heyward (too early to tell?). We were on a great run with Troy, Ben and Heath...but now we are obviously reaping the fruits of our bad first round picks.

You may be right. The problem with keeping Pouncey is the investment needed on the OL in the future. If we draft and sign a franchise LT, and DD looks like a Pro Bowler in years to come can we afford 3 highly paid OLmen?

That is exactly why I kept harping about needing to draft another OL in the past draft. You have to keep priming the pump on the OL because you never know how it will play out performance wise and you need flexibility to let guys go. All this nonsense that we spent these high picks in the past so we shouldn't draft anymore is nonsense.

If I were in charge I would be draft a guy who could play Center and Guard to provide some insurance for Pouncey leaving.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

I've been thinking the same thing about Pouncey. The last few years I have been very underwhelmed with him, so I really hope we don't resign him. It really stinks with him being another 1st round pick that doesn't pan out...Holmes, Mendenhall, Pouncey, Hood?, Heyward (too early to tell?). We were on a great run with Troy, Ben and Heath...but now we are obviously reaping the fruits of our bad first round picks.

Didn't pan out??? How quickly we forget. Holmes was Superbowl MVP for this team. Pouncey is a 3-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro. Injuries are the only thing keeping him from being even better. IMO Heyward is turning into a really good young D-lineman for this team and has been getting lots more opportunities. I've been really happy with his performance this season.

Mendenhall didn't turn into the star I hoped he would (injuries had a TON to do with that), but he was definitely the best back the Steelers had since he was drafted. Hood is a serviceable D-Lineman. Certainly not a star but a pretty solid player. I hoped for more from him.

Didn't pan out??? How quickly we forget. Holmes was Superbowl MVP for this team. Pouncey is a 3-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro. Injuries are the only thing keeping him from being even better. IMO Heyward is turning into a really good young D-lineman for this team and has been getting lots more opportunities. I've been really happy with his performance this season.

Mendenhall didn't turn into the star I hoped he would (injuries had a TON to do with that), but he was definitely the best back the Steelers had since he was drafted. Hood is a serviceable D-Lineman. Certainly not a star but a pretty solid player. I hoped for more from him.

Agree with you on all accounts. Our problem is not who we take in Round 1 or even Round 2 (exceptfor Sweed but no one would had predicted that failure). It is 3-5 where we have to do better.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

Unlikely Pouncey moves to Guard. Not sure Pouncey gets you a 1st Round pick coming off a knee injury.

Velasco doesn't seem strong enough with pass blocking to get rid of Pouncey. I could see keeping Pouncey at Center and moving Velasco to Guard to replace Foster. That gives you a player who can play two positions.

Tough decision about what we do with Pouncey.

I heard that Velasco was awful at guard, and that is why he was cut this year. Decent center, subpar guard.

The decision on what to do with Pouncey is a bit premature. I'd like to see what Velasco does the rest of this year. On Pouncey, one thing I'll say is that the Steelers can't just let him walk. They need to either resign him or get value in a trade for him. To do that, they may need to let him finish out his rookie deal and franchise him.